Government not keeping pace with reservists’ health requirements: report

In this Jan. 18, 2010 file photo, an Afghan boy is seen while a soldier from the Canadian Army Reserve out of Alberta keeps guard as his unit carries out an information gathering patrol in Kandahar City, southern Afghanistan. AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

Canada’s military policy reform has not kept pace with the evolving role of its reserve forces, or the health care they expect to receive, says a new report from the military’s ombudsman.

The report, released Wednesday, is a follow-up to one the ombudsman issued in 2008 that recommended the Canadian Forces improve health care and benefits for reserve soldiers, sailors and air force members. Reservists, it said, were not being treated the same as regular forces.

But in the four years that have passed since that report, the government has only implemented four of the twelve recommendations made in 2008 to improve the imbalance. The new report released Wednesday calls it “disappointing.”

“Only four of 12 recommendations have been fully actioned in the past four years, a further six recommendations have been partially implemented,” the new report states (emphasis theirs). “Two have not been addressed at all.”

The fundamental issue is one of disparity.

“There are different standards with respect to periodic health assessments, provision of immunizations and the handling of medical records,” between regular forces and reservists, the report concluded. “This is unfair.”

“Of particular note, no change has been made to the Accidental Dismemberment Insurance Plan, which maintains an unfair disparity as some reservists are still not entitled to the same compensation as their counterparts for exactly the same dismemberment,” the ombudsman’s office said in a release Wednesday.

The report itself was even more scathing.

“The differing eligibility of reservists with regard to dismemberment insurance benefits is an egregious example of inequality of standards,” it said. “Although exposed to the same risks and liable to incur the same injuries as full-time members, Reservists on Class A service and Class B service of 180 days or less are eligible for only 40 percent of the amount that the others receive for the same types of injuries.”

The report also noted that special reservists who are temporarily posted to the primary reserve for less than a year — a process called ‘attach posting’ — face “a highly unfair situation in that they are not eligible for any disability benefit of any sort.” And although the ombudsman’s investigation did not find any instance where a supplementary reservist on attach posting was injured, “the negative consequence, were such an injury to take place, would be unacceptable, completely preventable, and must be addressed.”

Defence Minister Peter MacKay responded to the report Wednesday morning by way of a statement issued to reporters.

In it, he noted that “action has been taken on ten out of the 12 ombudsman recommendations,” and that “the Canadian Forces Health Information System and reservist entitlement for medical care meet the recommendations of the ombudsman.” He added that “approximately 90 percent of reservists’ paper health records have been sent to Health Services Centres for proper safeguarding.”

However, MacKay also conceded one of the main failings the ombudsman noted of his department.

“The fact that the Department of National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces have not implemented necessary changes to the Accidental Dismemberment Insurance Plan is completely unacceptable,” the release stated.

MacKay “has directed officials to resolve this outstanding, unfair issue immediately and to inform Canadians and Canadian Forces reservists of the necessary changes once they are finalized.”